


Hanging By A Thread

by Hugo_renfield



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Actually that's debatable, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Yarn Store, But she's a terrible felter, Elsa knits, F/F, Felting, Fluff, Goats, Instead of reindeer, Knitting, Maren is a forest hippie, Mother's Shawl, Slow Burn, You guys there are baby goats in this story, literal fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24965857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hugo_renfield/pseuds/Hugo_renfield
Summary: In the two months since she and Anna had moved away from Arendelle, Elsa hadn’t really made any connections. Not that that was such a drastic change from before - Elsa had never been a very social person, much to her sister’s displeasure. But now that they were far away from their childhood hometown and the ghosts of their past, Anna wanted more than anything for her sister to open up. The cute girl at the local yarn store might just be able to help.Or, the Yarn Store AU nobody asked for.
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 42





	1. In Which Elsa Makes A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I will be putting visual references for this fic on this Pinterest board: https://pin.it/4cVuUdb
> 
> But I highly recommend looking up lace knitting and needle felting if these are new concepts.

_ Ding, ding! _

Maren glanced up from the back of the shop where she was restocking skeins of sock yarn. 

“Hi, welcome! Can I help you?” she said on autopilot. She stood up all the way and was greeted by a startled blonde woman.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” the woman responded. Although she had obviously been caught off guard, her voice was smooth and mellifluous, and she spoke with a slight accent indicating that she was from out of town. “I’m just looking around.”

Maren gave her a warm smile. “Alright, well let me know if I can help you find anything.”

The woman nodded and turned towards a shelf of luxury alpaca yarn. She picked up a skein and ran her fingers over the delicate strands.

“That just came in,” Maren commented. “I would buy it all if I could.”

The woman just hummed before putting it back and moving on to the next shelf. 

_ Not one for conversation, eh? _ Maren thought.

That was okay. When Maren’s grandmother had put her in charge of North Mountain Yarn Company she had been over the moon. She  _ loved _ meeting new people and could talk about yarn and fiber arts forever. Her favorite part of her job was talking to the customers, who tended to be older ladies who welcomed a genuine conversation with the enthusiastic young woman. But over the past several years that she had worked at the store, Maren had noticed the demographics change. The world of fiber arts was diversifying, and Maren was more than excited at the shift. She wanted more than anything to help usher in the next generation of fiber artists, and the store reflected that passion. 

So it had not surprised her when the stunning young blonde had entered the shop, but she felt something of a thrill nonetheless. The woman seemed at ease and in her element. Maybe she was just a private person. Maybe, as her accent suggested, Northuldran was not her first language and she was unused to conversing in it. 

“This is lovely,” the woman breathed, cradling a skein of fine cashmere in a deep burgundy. 

“That one’s my favorite,” Maren offered. “My grandma made me this shawl out of it a few years ago.” 

She came to stand next to the woman and held up a knitted shawl that was on display. It was in a deep forest green and seemed to glow. The woman lovingly inspected the shawl.

“What pattern is this?” 

“She didn’t say. I think she just did it by memory.”

The woman let the shawl run through her fingers, then checked the price tag on her skein. Maren was surprised when her eyes did not bulge out of her head at the price. She was even more surprised when the woman picked up a second skein and turned toward the checkout counter. 

“I’ll take these.”

Maren followed her and slid behind the counter to ring her up. “Do you live around here?”

_ That came out a lot more forward than I intended _ , Maren internally panicked.

“I- I only ask because we have a loyalty program.” She held up a punch card. “For every $20 you spend, you get a stamp.”

The woman smiled. “I just moved here, actually.”

“Well, welcome to town! And...” Maren checked her total, “that will get you 3 stamps today.”

She returned the woman’s card and handed her a receipt.

“Would you like a bag?”

The woman nodded. 

Maren placed her skeins in the bag and passed it over the counter.

“Have a wonderful day, and I hope to see you in here again!” Maren waved.

The woman waved back and Maren’s eyes followed her as she exited the shop. Maren only realized she had left when the bell over the door broke her from her daydream.

  
  


***

  
  


A couple of months had passed since the woman, who Maren learned was named Elsa, had first visited the store. She had started coming more and more frequently, and Maren welcomed the opportunity to chat with her whenever she visited. 

Maren had told Elsa about the crafting group that met at the store on Sunday afternoons and had encouraged her to attend as a way to meet people in her new town. Elsa had given her a hesitant maybe, so Maren didn’t have high hopes that she would actually come today. 

Elsa had looked a little uncomfortable at first, but she visibly relaxed as she started working on her knitting, a beautiful beaded shawl in a snowy white yarn. It helped that the other attendees were so inviting. The store was quiet at the moment, so Maren took the opportunity to join the group for a while. She brought her latest needle felting project over to the table and pulled up a chair next to Elsa. 

“Oh, what are you working on there?” Elsa leaned over to inspect Maren’s work.

“It’s a reindeer. For my brother.”

“I’ve never tried that before.”

“What, felting?”

Elsa nodded.

“Do you want to learn?” Maren asked. “I have official classes here each month. But I’m happy to just teach you sometime if you want.”

Elsa gave a gentle smile, one that Maren was growing accustomed to. “I would like that.”

Maren did an internal happy dance but managed to stay calm on the outside. “Great, when are you available? I’m basically here all the time. I’d just need to work it out with my grandma.”

“Let me check my calendar.”

_ Ding, ding! _

“Looks like I’m needed,” Maren groaned. “But come see me before you leave so we can plan something.”

Elsa nodded as Maren made her way out into the main room of the store. 

About an hour later, Elsa found Maren before leaving. 

“How about next Saturday?” she suggested. 

“Works for me!” Maren replied. “How’s 2 sound?”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

  
  


***

  
  


Saturday arrived all at once and not soon enough. 

The store was busier than usual, keeping Maren on her toes. She still had to eat lunch and set up before Elsa arrived in less than an hour.

“Hey sis!”

Maren felt relief wash over her as her brother entered through the back door. 

“Ryder, thank goodness, it’s crazy today!” Maren wrapped her brother in a tight hug. 

“Aww, how bad can it be?” 

“We’ve had more customers than usual because of the Pear Blossom Festival, which wouldn’t be a problem on its own, but then Gale decided to have her babies and I’ve been running back and forth all morning.” 

“About time,” Ryder said, “She was huge!”

“Count on that goat to give birth at the worst possible time.” Maren shook her head. 

“Sorry I couldn’t be there to help. Things were pretty busy at the shelter too.” 

“Hey, we made it through, didn’t we?” Maren lay a reassuring hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “And I can’t thank you enough for covering for me today.”

“No problem, sis. Now go eat something!”

  
  


***

  
  


By some miracle, Maren managed to run home to check on the goats, grab something to eat, and get back to the shop to set up for her felting lesson by 2. 

She and Elsa fell into easy conversation as Maren began their lesson. It was evident that Elsa was artistic. She just needed to loosen up a bit. 

“Now remember, you have to stick the needle straight in.” Maren coached. “You can’t bend it or it will break. But you already learned that the hard way.”

Elsa groaned. 

“Try to relax a little,” Maren encouraged the woman, “It will be easier, I promise.” 

Maren watched Elsa make an honest effort to drop her tensed shoulders.

“There you go! That looks great!” Maren handed Elsa another piece of colored wool. “Now, take this piece and wrap it around here.”

Soon enough, Elsa had successfully completed her felted penguin. 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Maren congratulated her, “And you only broke 4 needles!” 

Elsa held up her creation to inspect it. “You know, he reminds me of this stuffed penguin I had as a kid.” 

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Sir Jorgenbjorgen.” 

“I never really had stuffed animals growing up,” Maren said. “I just had a bunch of real animals instead.”

“You have a lot of pets?”

“I guess you could say that. We have goats,” Maren explained, “And a cranky old llama.”

At this, Elsa’s face cracked into a wide grin and she let out a soft laugh. 

“We used to have horses. My sister and I would go riding together.” A look of - was it sadness? - flashed across Elsa’s face so quickly Maren almost missed it. She debated for a moment whether to press for more or change the subject. Fortunately, Ryder answered that for her.

“Hey Mare, I just went to check on Gale and the babies and they’re doing great.”

“Hey Ry, thanks!” Maren smiled at her brother. “By the way, this is Elsa. Elsa, this is my brother Ryder.”

Ryder offered his hand to Elsa. “Nice to finally meet you! Maren’s told me all about you.”

Maren cringed.

“Well it’s almost time to close up. Mare, can you come help me when you’re done?” Ryder disappeared behind the checkout counter.

Maren leaned towards Elsa. “He hates closing on his own because he thinks the back room is haunted.”

They chuckled to themselves as they gathered up their things. Maren carefully disposed of the broken needles. It wasn’t unusual for beginners (and even experienced felters) to break a few needles, but it was evident that Elsa held a kind of deep stress, and she didn’t know why, but Maren wanted to ease that in whatever way she could. So she did the next right thing and invited her for another lesson. Nothing could help manage stress like felting in Maren’s opinion. And, selfishly, maybe she also just wanted to spend time with the mysterious woman again.


	2. In Which The Sisters Learn To Wet Felt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going out of town to visit family for the week, so here's chapter 2! I've started the third, but not sure how much time I'll have for writing while I'm gone. Stay healthy, stay happy!

“Look Elsa, I’m not saying you have to go there and immediately make friends with everyone you see, I just think you need to at least try to start letting people in is all.”

Elsa kept her eyes on the road as she thought about her sister’s words. 

In the two months since she and Anna had moved, Elsa hadn’t really made any connections. Not that that was such a drastic change from before - Elsa had never been a very social person, much to her sister’s displeasure. But now that they were far away from their childhood hometown and the ghosts of their past, Anna wanted more than anything for her sister to open up. So when Elsa had mentioned the crafting group that met at the local yarn store, Anna jumped at the opportunity.

“But they meet on Sunday afternoon. That’s our sister time.”

“Elsa.” Anna turned in the passenger seat to face her sister. “We live in the same house now. I literally see you every day. I can handle giving you up for a couple hours each week if it means you meeting people.” Anna shrugged. “Besides, that girl who owns the place seems nice.” 

Elsa knew her sister would not leave her alone until she gave in, so she relented a little. 

“She _is_ nice, and I _do_ want to meet people.”

Anna clasped her hands together gleefully. “So you’ll go check it out then? This will be great!”

Anna grabbed her backpack from the back seat and made her way to her bedroom, leaving Elsa alone with her thoughts and dinner preparation.

Elsa had first visited the North Mountain Yarn Co. shortly after moving. She had understandably been feeling stressed and anxious, and few things could ease her mind quite like squishing skeins of beautiful yarn. Her yarn stash was still packed away, waiting until the new house was organized, and visiting the yarn store gave her a chance to explore the downtown area. Since her initial visit, she had found herself returning nearly every week. It wasn’t inconvenient - the shop was located only a few blocks from the community college where Anna was taking classes - so Elsa made a habit of stopping by after dropping Anna off, or before picking her up in the afternoon. It always managed to lift her spirits. 

And the owner, Maren (at least Elsa thought she was the owner), was always so very friendly and made Elsa feel at ease. She felt bad that she couldn’t offer more in the way of conversation (she was working on that), but the woman never seemed to mind. 

_I’ll go one time, just to try it out. No commitments_ , she decided. 

  
  


***

  
  


The bell over the door jingled as Elsa entered that Sunday afternoon. She had dropped Anna off at the college so she could work on an assignment and agreed to pick her up in 2 hours. Clutching her project bag to her chest, Elsa scanned the shop for a familiar face.

“You came!”

Maren appeared in a doorway at the back of the shop. 

“We’re back here, come on over!” 

Elsa smiled and made her way to the back room. It was a small room, mostly containing boxes of various yarns and tools waiting to be stocked. In the center of the room was a round wooden table with a collection of mismatched chairs. There were four other people at the table already, quietly chatting about their latest projects.

“Look at that, a new face!” exclaimed an older woman with short grey hair. 

“This is Elsa. She’s new in town,” Maren introduced her. She turned toward Elsa. “I have to do inventory so I’ll be back and forth, but please make yourself comfortable.”

Elsa pulled out the chair closest to her. The grey-haired woman held out her hand. “I’m Flora. Wonderful to meet you!”

Elsa accepted her hand.

“And this is Alice, Jim, and Cindi,” Flora introduced the others at the table. Elsa gave a shy wave and opened her project bag, revealing a half-completed pure white beaded shawl with an intricate snowflake motif. 

“That’s lovely,” Flora said, “What’s the pattern?”

“Oh, I came up with it on my own,” Elsa said. “I design patterns for fun sometimes.”

Jim looked up. “Do you publish them?”

“A few. It’s just a side gig.” 

Elsa found herself relaxing in the presence of the crafters. Maren even joined the group for a few minutes before being called back out to the front of the shop. She was working on a needle felting project, something Elsa had always wanted to try but had never had the chance to. When Maren had asked if she would like to learn, Elsa almost dismissed it. However, she knew that Anna would never let her hear the end of it, and she really was curious, so she agreed, even if it meant giving up another afternoon with her sister. 

Now, nearly a week later, Elsa had a completed project along with one minor stab wound and four broken needles, and she wasn’t so sure that needle felting was for her. 

Elsa gathered her things and prepared to leave. While Maren put away the leftover materials, Elsa wandered around the front of the shop. Her eyes fell on a beautiful scarf with bits of colorful wool swirling around.

“This is felted, isn’t it?” she asked.

“It is. But that’s wet felted.”

Elsa gave Maren a questioning look.

“Wet felting is my main craft,” she explained. “You might like it. No needles involved.”

“That does sound more my speed, doesn’t it,” Elsa mused.

“I’ll teach you if you want,” Maren said.

“Can’t be any worse than needle felting,” Elsa joked. 

“We don’t have the space to do it here, but consider this an open invitation to come over to my house for a lesson,” Maren offered. “Your sister can come, too.”

Elsa perked up at that comment. 

“I think Anna would enjoy that,” she said, “I’ll talk to her when I get home.”

“Great! And let me know when you make your decision.” She grabbed a business card and scrawled her cell number on the back.

“Will I be seeing you tomorrow for crafting group?” Maren asked, handing the card to Elsa.

“Of course!”

  
  


***

  
  


Elsa turned the business card over in her hand. 

Anna had been entirely too enthusiastic at the idea of a lesson at the store owner’s home and had insisted that Elsa text her immediately, despite Elsa’s argument that she would see her tomorrow and could just tell her then. And besides, she didn’t need to bother Maren with an unnecessary text after her busy day.

Anna argued that Maren wouldn’t have given Elsa her personal number if she didn’t want her to text. 

She had a fair point. 

Elsa stared at the phone in her hand.

_Hi Maren, this is Elsa. Anna and I would be honored to come over for a felting lesson._

Did it sound too formal? Too uptight? Elsa was both of those things. She couldn’t help it. But she desperately wanted to give the right impression. She would ask Anna what to say.

No, Anna would tease her about overthinking it too much. She should just do it. It couldn’t be that bad. 

Groaning, Elsa deleted the message. It would be a whole lot easier to just talk to her tomorrow.

“Did you send the message yet?” came Anna’s voice from the other room. 

“No,” Elsa replied honestly. 

“You’re not overthinking things again, are you?”

“Maybe...” 

Anna appeared in her doorway. “Give me the phone.”

Elsa handed her the device and Anna tapped away at the screen before handing it back.

“There.”

_Hey maren its elsa! Anna and i are ttly down for a felting lesson just say wehn ;)_

“Anna I can’t send that,” Elsa said, shaking her head. “I have my dignity to protect.”

She fixed it up to meet her standards.

_Hey Maren, it’s Elsa! Anna and I would love to join you for a felting lesson. Just say when!_

That didn’t sound so bad. Not too formal, but not too casual either. Just right. She hit send and let out a breath she forgot she had been holding. Now she only had to wait for an answer.

  
  


***

  
  


“She said it was just up the road from the shop.”

Elsa turned off of the main road towards the yarn store. 

The fog rolled off the slopes of the wooded hills, making visibility a bit more difficult than usual. The sun was just starting to peak through, and soon the mist would burn off. 

Elsa turned onto another road, this one winding its way up the hillside. Maren’s instructions stated that her home was at the very end of the road. They rounded a bend and the trees opened up onto a small pasture. The pavement gave way to gravel. A moment later, a small house came into view.

The gravel driveway turned into a cobblestone path that led to a modest but well-maintained single-story cottage. The yellow paint seemed to glow in the sparse sunlight leaking through the mist. Tulips and daffodils added splashes of red, orange, and yellow to the vibrant green of the garden. The whole image was the very definition of pastoral bliss. 

Elsa parked the car in the driveway and opened the door. She was immediately met with the sweet scent of wet grass, new leaves, and blossoms. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“Hey you two!” Maren’s voice came from somewhere outside the house. 

Elsa opened her eyes and saw the woman walking towards them, grinning widely, carrying a tiny goat. 

Elsa smiled and began walking towards her, Anna close behind her.

“Is that a _goat?”_ Anna squealed. 

“This is Geranium,” Maren nuzzled the goat’s head affectionately before setting her down, allowing her to bound happily towards her mother. “She was born a week ago,” Maren said, unlatching the pasture gate and walked towards the house, gesturing for them to follow.

The inside of the home was every bit as cozy and inviting as the outside. The walls were painted a happy combination of white and pale green, and the light wood of the floors made the whole place feel bright. It was tidy, but lived in, and smelled faintly of cedar and lavender. 

The three women took off their shoes by the front door and Maren led them to the kitchen where she had everything set up. They situated themselves around the table and Maren began the lesson. 

“Elsa, you already know this, but I’ll say it again for Anna.” Maren held up a small handful of wool. “Wool felts when you add two things: heat and agitation. That’s because the strands have little scales on them. Your hair does too, and you can feel them if you run your finger from the bottom of a strand to the top. But wool is very fine compared to your hair, so those scales can get tangled together easier.”

Maren dipped her handful of wool into a bowl of soapy water and began vigorously rubbing it around in her hands.

“Have you ever accidentally put a wool sweater in the dryer?” Maren asked.

Anna nodded. “Yeah, I ruined my favorite sweater in high school that way.”

“And what happened to it?”

“It was too small.”

“Do you know why?”

Anna thought. “Because of the scales?”

“Bingo,” Maren shot her a smile. “Because the dryer added heat and agitation, those scales got tangled together. And when they get tangled together,” Maren opened her hand, revealing a rough ball of wool. “The scales pull each other in, making the wool tighter and shrinking the item.”

The expression on Anna’s face was as if she had seen magic happen.

“Your turn,” Maren grinned. 

She handed each sister their own handful of wool and instructed to dip it into the bowl of warm, soapy water and begin rubbing it around in their hands until they could make it no smaller. Anna appeared completely delighted and at ease, and Elsa thought it had been much too long since she had seen her sister this relaxed. 

“Now we’re going to make something flat,” Maren told them. She gave each woman a metal tray, a piece of mesh fabric, and a larger ball of wool. 

“Spread your wool out like this,” she showed them, “If you can see the tray through the wool, it will make a hole, so do your best to cover it evenly. Try to make it into a square.”

The sisters followed along.

“Good. Now take the piece of mesh and cover it.”

Elsa and Anna watched as Maren poured a splash of soapy water on her wool and gently started to rub her fingers over it.

“The mesh helps hold the wool in place until the scales start to grab onto each other. To start off, pretend like you’re massaging a baby.”

The three women worked in silence for a minute, focused on the task at hand.

“Good! The scales are just starting to cling to each other. Now we can take the mesh off and keep massaging it. As you feel it firm up, you can massage it a little harder. You can also use your fingers to pull the ends in and shape your piece.”

Anna stuck the tip of her tongue out as she worked. “This is weirdly relaxing.”

“That’s what you say now,” Maren smirked. “Just wait until the next step.”

A concerned expression crossed Elsa’s face at that comment.

A moment later, Maren announced that they should bring their felted wool squares into the bathroom.

“Now this is the best part,” she said, grinning. “You’re going to throw your wool into the side of the tub as hard as you can a few times.” She demonstrated, the wool making a sharp smack. “I like to think of someone I really hate when I do this.”

Anna let out a delighted laugh. “Like this?” she chucked her wool square into the side of the tub, creating a resonant slap.

“Exactly like that,” Maren chuckled.

Anna did it several more times, becoming increasingly joyful.

“You’ve got a lot of anger in you, don’t you,” Maren remarked.

“You have no idea,” Elsa said jokingly, but once again Maren sensed an underlying sadness. 

“Come on Els, give it a go!” Anna turned to her sister.

Elsa stepped up to the tub and gave a halfhearted toss.

“Oh come on, you can do better than that!”

Elsa picked up her square and closed her eyes, thinking of all the wrongdoings of her past. She raised her arm and threw it again.

It made a muted thud and fell to the bottom of the tub.

“What was that?” Anna asked.

“I... Don’t know.” Elsa looked down at her feet and held her arms around her middle. “I guess I just... can’t do it right.”

Anna, sensing that her sister was starting to retreat, picked up her square from the tub. “That’s okay, I like doing it anyway!” 

Elsa smiled at her sister appreciatively. 

“Let’s take a lunch break,” Maren suggested. 

They set their felted pieces on a drying rack and Maren led them back to the kitchen. 

Elsa fell to the back of the group and whispered to her sister, “Thanks, Anna.”

“Any time, sis," Anna smiled and pulled her sister into a hug.


End file.
